[K]

I'm not sure if you retain items when you zombify.... considering that wounds sometimes take slots, I'm not sure I'd risk it in any case. Should test that.

Now, the problem of killing those guys.

-To get those slave mages there you'll need to get them to S3, so you are risking two boosters per.

-Actually killing those enemy units will not be easy, but here are some ways to do it:

---I'd avoid Soul Slay or Mind Burn spam as Vans are quick and will be on you in 1-2 rounds, barely giving you time to set up your communion. This means Enslave spam is best suited as it will cause the Vans to stop and kill their brothers.

Mix in Falling Frost for other communion leaders.

---Take a D1 Communion leader so he can spam Undead Horde. The vans will hit them and blow thier charge attack, and will be slowed down a bit, given time for your Enslaving to work. Once he goes off scrip, Nether Darts are one of his options.

---Set the communion slaves to Communion Slave, then Enslave, Enslave, Enslave, Enslave. They will probably fatigue out after a few castings, but that's fine. You want them 100+ to kill them.

---Killing mages with fatigue is harder then you think.... I suggest bringing one leader for every three or four slaves.

In conclusion, considering the number of mages you need to bring and the gems this little attack will cost, and the risk, I don't think it's worth it. Just because a thing can be done doesn't mean you should.

I'd probably solve this little problem by dropping in a minimal communion to cast a Battlefield spell with a few astral thugs to hold the line while the spell does it's work.